Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia would not have murdered prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi without American protection, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday Saudi authorities staged the "worst cover-up ever" in the killing of Khashoggi in Turkey this month, as Washington vowed to revoke the visas of some of those believed to be responsible.
"No one would imagine that in today's world and a new century that we would witness such an organised murder and a system would plan out such a heinous murder," Rouhani said, according to IRNA.
"I don't think that a country would dare commit such a crime without the protection of America."
Khashoggi's death in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 has triggered global outrage.
Saudi Arabia initially denied knowledge of Khashoggi's fate before saying on Saturday he was killed in a fight in the consulate, an account met with skepticism from several Western governments.
Iran and Saudi Arabia are regional rivals and have supported opposing sides in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen and different political factions in Iraq and Lebanon.
U.S. protection has allowed Saudi Arabia to carry out bombings against civilians in Yemen's war, Rouhani said, according to IRNA.
"If there was no American protection, would the people of Yemen still have faced the same brutal bombing?" Rouhani said.
Rouhani also called on Turkey's government to conduct an impartial investigation into Khashoggi's "unprecedented" murder.
Separately, Rouhani said that Iran would "defeat" new American sanctions targeting its oil sector, according to the IRIB news agency.
Washington plans to impose the sanctions from Nov. 4 with the aim of stopping Iran's involvement in conflicts in Syria and Iraq, and bringing Tehran to the negotiating table over its ballistic missile programme.
Khashoggi, a Saudi national and columnist for the Washington Post, was last seen entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.
After weeks of denying involvement in his disappearance, Saudi Arabia on Saturday announced that he died in a fight inside the consulate.
World leaders have called on the Saudi government to provide more concrete answers on his death amid a global outcry.
On the day of Khashoggi's disappearance, 15 other Saudis, including several officials, arrived in Istanbul on two planes and visited the consulate while he was still inside, according to Turkish police sources. All of the identified individuals have since left Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday laid out his country's initial findings in its investigation, saying Khashoggi's murder was "premeditated".
